Fire damages Richland Township home

officials believe it was electrical

Flora Lordi was watching her shows and eating a breakfast of bananas and cereal when she first saw fire Friday morning.

The next moment, the 74-year-old was trying to beat back the flames in her Richland Township home's living room, which she said were coming from behind the couch, by the air conditioner.

Then she was calling 911 and crying to a neighbor that her home was on fire.

"I was sitting watching my Christian broadcasting station," Lordi said. "The more I tried to put it out, the bigger it got."

A fire gutted the back half of Lordi's home at 246 Perkasie Road on Friday, ruining an attached living room and spreading into the main part of her twin Colonial.

Firefighters called about 9:15 a.m. were able to squelch the blaze within a half hour, and prevented it from spreading much to 248 Perkasie Road, the other side of the twin home, said Allen Pfaff, battalion chief of Quakertown Fire Department.

Lordi's house was uninhabitable but should be able to be repaired, Pfaff said.

Lordi, whose daughter and grandson were not home at the time, said she burned part of her arms trying to bring the initial flames under control, before she gave up and called authorities.

Richland Township Police Officer Raymond Aleman said he arrived to see Lordi within feet of the house and a resident of the neighboring unit training a garden hose on the living room.

"The good news is that everybody is safe," Aleman said.

Fire crews quickly stopped the blaze, Aleman said. "It went from black to white smoke as soon as they started fighting it."

Bucks County and Quakertown fire marshals were on scene Friday trying to pinpoint the blaze's cause. Pfaff said it is believed to have been electrical.

The fire spread from the back of the house to its kitchen and also damaged part of the home's second-floor, Pfaff said.

The neighboring unit saw some burning in the back, but remained habitable, he said.

Dozens of firefighters from five area departments responded: Quakertown, Trumbauersville, Perkasie, Ottsville and Richland. An ambulance from St. Luke's Emergency and Transport Services came, but was not needed. Haycock and Pennsburg provided station coverage.

From the front, the home looked barely damaged. An upper window was broken out and ladders leaned against the wall.

From the backyard, the living room could be seen charred black, its windows shattered and only metal wiring remaining of what used to be furniture. The back side of the home also was heavily burned.

The American Red Cross is assisting Lordi and her family with food, clothing and housing, said Denise Venuti Free, a spokeswoman for the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter.